A look at the short and medium wave "hobby" or pirate radio scene in Europe from an English viewpoint

Thursday, 31 December 2015

1439 kilohertz (from 1978 1440 kHz) or "Two-o-Eight"

If I want to hear a tune, like say "Return To
Sender" by Elvis Presley, there are a number of ways I can do that.

I can
go to one of my hard drives and play it through MediaMonkey or QuickTime or
whatever. I can go to Spotify or Amazon or iTunes and stream or download it. I
can go to my CD collection and play it on my stereo. I can probably hear it on
one of many thousands of Internet stations that play 1960s music.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the only way to hear a tune
like this was to buy the 7 inch single after hearing it first on the radio. The
only radio station that played popular music was …….. Radio Luxembourg.

The "Station of the Stars" was the mainstay of musical
enjoyment for a whole generation of listeners like myself until the offshore
stations like Radio Caroline, Radio Atlanta and Radio London started up in 1963.

"Two-o-Eight" had an enormous impact upon the
teenagers and young people of that period. DJs like Pete Murray, David Jacobs
and Jack Jackson became our knowledgeable disc spinners. We learned how to
spell "Keynsham" (Bristol) and that the HQ of Luxembourg was in Hertford Street
in London. The gong announced an evening of musical delight; was it to be clear
and crisp or fading and distorted, or even virtually non-existent? (The Medium
Wave frequency of 1439 kHz being subject to the whims of the ionosphere and its
constantly changing moods).

In the early 60s you could receive "Buxom Girl"
on 208 metres (1439 kHz) or 49.26 metres on the shortwave (6090 kHz). In the 30s,
40s and 50s it was also broadcast on Long Wave.

QSL card from Radio Luxembourg for reception on 6090 kHz on the 30.7.1965

The transmitter atMarnach in the Principality of Luxembourg
could run up to 1,200 kilowatts and was one of the most powerful on medium wave
when it was first switched on.The transmissions of Radio Luxembourg lasted until the 1990s, when it was no longer commercially viable to broadcast to Great Britain.

Marnach transmitter site, Luxembourg

Since then the transmitter at Marnach has been used to broadcast programmes from CRI (China Radio), South Korea and KBS World Radio.

But tonight this comes to an end …… the Marnach transmitter is being switched off for good (along with most MF transmitters in Germany and France) and the antenna will be removed and the land sold at the going rate.

Last evening, a programme about the ending of Radio Luxembourg was aired over 208 (1440 kHz). The end is nigh!

Am I alone in feeling somewhat sad that the end of the Marnach transmitter signifies the end of a broadcasting era?

Internet Repeats on 20th of December:EMR will repeat this months Programmes via two streams running at the following Times:15.00, 17.00, 19.00 UTChttp://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u will be on 96 kbps /44 KHz stereo for normal listeninghttp://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u will be 24 kbps / 22KHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth like mobile phones.NEW BOOK by Gayle Van Horn W4GVHCEO/Vice President Teak PublishingInternational Shortwave Broadcast Guide e-Pub/Amazon KindleQSLing the World Kindle Book http://amzn.com/B0083M204W Shortwave Central Blog http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/Twitter: @QSLRptMT

Friday, 18 December 2015

Logs of Friday 18th December 20156207 @ 1549 Goofy - 24222; ID, Radio Goofy, music6285 @ 1551 Focus (tent) - 34333; Wonderful Radio London jingle, "Your Unchanging love" by Marvin GayeI also heard stations at the same time on 6295 and 6305, but I heard no IDs. Somebody on the Chat suggested 6305 was R Marabu. We shall see on Saturday!Radio ZeewolfIt is good to hear that Radio Zeewolf has been able to renew his interest in "Hobby" radio after having received "The Letter" from the AT in the Netherlands. He is experimenting with a miniwhip antenna and will report his logs in the coming weeks. Good Luck! Further details (in Dutch) on his website: http://middengolfontvangstrapporten.blogspot.co.uk/ The title is: "Verder met ontvangsten uit 2015"Computer problemsThe good news: SanDisk are replacing my SSD under the 3 year warranty. The bad news: I am still having problems with my PC. Two PCI slots on the motherboard seem to be not working and I have lost my wi-fi card and audio card. I am using an Ethernet link to the Broadband router which is fine, but the sound card is a real loss. I think I need to replace the motherboard, but do I have the nerve to remove the FX-6300 processor and place it in a new motherboard? Watch this space. Anyone know a computer expert?Seriously though I could do with some advice ....

Monday, 14 December 2015

Logs of Monday 14th December 20156300 @ 0958 Merlin - 2-35333; Recording of an evening's broadcast from previously, "Bank Robber" by The ClashThe SSD in my PC decided to give up the ghost this morning, so I have had to revert to a good old mechanical hard drive. Seems the only thing I have lost is my logs from about April this year. Still I do have the Blog copy and a printed copy! Maybe the new devices are not always the best. The SSD is completely dead. I probably will not replace it.

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Social MediaFor a little fun and to contact some people who read the blog, I decided to go on Facebook. However, it seems that to be a member on there now, you must give your personal identity. They asked me to confirm it with personal identity proof.I only wanted to put Terry's Hobby Radio Blog out there for chats!Sorry if you joined and find the account deactivated! I am really not going to bother. If they looked at the account they would realise I am not a terrorist or anything else! However, I understand the need for tight security, as long as it applies to everyone.

Friday, 4 December 2015

Logs of Friday 4th December 20156285 @ 1423 Python - 3-45433; "Lies" by Fleetwood Mac, "Ashes To Ashes" by Tears For Fears, "Five Minutes" by Her6285U @ 1857 Mike Radio - S9+20; "Stop Loving You" by Toto, "Lovely Day" (remix) by Bill Withers, still s9 @ 1953, "Airport" by The Motors, "Every Time I Think of You" by The Babys, weaker by 19293930 @ 1859 Batavia - 34333; "Drive My Car" by The Beatles, "Greetings to me, "Good Vibrations" by The Beach BoysInterestingly, note that I heard Mike Radio on 6285 between 1857 and 1925 when the band has been recently closed for short and medium skip. The station had disappeared completely by 1940, so skip had lengthened by then.Relays this weekend

Saturday HLR:07.00 to 09.00 UTC, on 7265 KHz09.00 to 12.00 UTC, on 6190 KHz12.00 to 16.00 UTC, on 7265 KHz

Thursday, 3 December 2015

Logs of Thursday 3rd December 2015

A very quiet few days of free radio activity at my receiver. The The band is closing rapidly for short and medium skip around 1600 UTC and some days even earlier than this. Laser on 4026 has been down in the noise, inaudible here. The K index this evening went down to 0, so perhaps conditions may change. I did hear one station today: 6401 @ 1514 WMR - 24222; Weak but good peaks through the noise; "Can You Feel It" by The Jacksons